Today on The Leaders' Brief -

• Last week, The US State Department approved the sale of $1.77 billion worth of defence equipment to Germany, including five P-8A Poseidon planes. The Poseidon is one of the “most advanced” weapon systems in the world. Other equipment included engines, sensors, radars, and communications equipment. The approval is of key strategic importance since, under the erstwhile Trump administration, the USA had withdrawn troops from Germany citing Berlin's failure to raise its defence budget to 2% of its GDP, as agreed by NATO members. The decision was also aimed at pressuring Berlin to heed American sanctions on the Russia-funded Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
• The QUAD Group made up of the United States, India, Australia, and Japan vowed to work towards restoring democracy in coup-hit Myanmar. The QUAD, a key strategic alliance in the Asia Pacific recently discussed Myanmar’s situation in their first meeting this year. However, barring the USA, the three QUAD countries have till now refrained from taking strong actions against Myanmar’s military. Myanmar, which remains under a military-induced year-long emergency for the past one and a half months, has turned a blind eye towards international concerns and increasing sanctions.
• Trade between the EU and Britain in the first-month post Brexit decreased significantly. According to statistics released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics last week, British goods exports to the EU, excluding non-monetary gold and other precious metals, fell by a record 40.7% in January compared to December and imports fell by 28.8%. While the COVID pandemic which continues to force several European countries to extend lockdowns and restrict trade can be blamed for a major part of this decrease, Brexit, too, made a significant impact. Britain’s exit from the EU saw both the 27-member bloc and the UK stockpile essential goods, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector before the end of the Brexit transition period in December.

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